The Peace of Vervins was signed between the representatives of Henry IV of France

Henry IV of France

Henry IV , Henri-Quatre, was King of France from 1589 to 1610 and King of Navarre from 1572 to 1610. He was the first monarch of the Bourbon branch of the Capetian dynasty in France....

 and Philip II of Spain

Philip II of Spain

Philip II was King of Spain, Portugal, Naples, Sicily, and, while married to Mary I, King of England and Ireland. He was lord of the Seventeen Provinces from 1556 until 1581, holding various titles for the individual territories such as duke or count....

, on 2 May 1598, at the small town of Vervins

Vervins

Vervins is a commune in the Aisne department in Picardy in northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department.-Population:-References:*...

 in Picardy

Picardy

This article is about the historical French province. For other uses, see Picardy .Picardy is a historical province of France, in the north of France...

, northern France, close to the territory of the Habsburg Netherlands

Habsburg Netherlands

The Habsburg Netherlands was a geo-political entity covering the whole of the Low Countries from 1482 to 1556/1581 and solely the Southern Netherlands from 1581 to 1794...

. The terms were worked out under the auspices of the papal legate

Papal legate

A papal legate – from the Latin, authentic Roman title Legatus – is a personal representative of the pope to foreign nations, or to some part of the Catholic Church. He is empowered on matters of Catholic Faith and for the settlement of ecclesiastical matters....

 of Clement VIII

Pope Clement VIII

Pope Clement VIII , born Ippolito Aldobrandini, was Pope from 30 January 1592 to 3 March 1605.-Cardinal:...

, Alessandro de' Medici

Pope Leo XI

Pope Leo XI , born Alessandro Ottaviano de' Medici, was Pope from 1 April 1605 to 27 April of the same year.-Biography:...

, the "architect of the treaty", according to Bernard Barbiche.

Henry had declared war on Spain in 1595 and had recently promulgated the Edict of Nantes

Edict of Nantes

The Edict of Nantes, issued on 13 April 1598, by Henry IV of France, granted the Calvinist Protestants of France substantial rights in a nation still considered essentially Catholic. In the Edict, Henry aimed primarily to promote civil unity...

, on 13 April. The Edict and this treaty brought to an effective end the Wars of Religion in France

French Wars of Religion

The French Wars of Religion is the name given to a period of civil infighting and military operations, primarily fought between French Catholics and Protestants . The conflict involved the factional disputes between the aristocratic houses of France, such as the House of Bourbon and House of Guise...

, which had spread to a conflict European-wide. By its terms, Philip recognized the formerly Protestant Henry as King of France and withdrew his forces from French territory, depriving the remnants of the Catholic League

Catholic League (French)

The Catholic League of France, sometimes referred to by contemporary Roman Catholics as the Holy League, a major player in the French Wars of Religion, was formed by Duke Henry of Guise in 1576...

 of their support.

Philip died on 13 September, but his heir Philip III

Philip III of Spain

Philip III , also known as Philip the Pious, was the King of Spain and King of Portugal and the Algarves, where he ruled as Philip II , from 1598 until his death...

 respected the terms of the treaty. Carlo Emanuele, duke of Savoy

Charles Emmanuel I, Duke of Savoy

Charles Emmanuel I , known as the Great, was the Duke of Savoy from 1580 to 1630...

, who had held back from the treaty, was defeated by Henry IV in 1599. He signed a separate Treaty of Lyon

Treaty of Lyon (1601)

The Treaty of Lyon was signed on January 17, 1601 between France, Spain, and Savoy. Based on the terms of the treaty, Henry IV of France relinquished Saluzzo to Savoy. In return, he acquired Bugey, Valromey, Gex, and Bresse. Eventually, the territory of Bresse was attached to the French military...

 with Henry in 1601.

The parties to the treaty were hosted by Guillemette de Coucy, co-seigneur of Vervins, in her Châteauneuf de Vervins. Close to the Spanish Netherlands, the Thiérache region had suffered much damage in the recent fighting. Its numerous 16th-century fortified churches still bear witness today.

In retrospect, historians see this as the final defeat of Philip II, who had furthered dynastic causes through championing ultra-Catholic principles, and a sign of the long downfall of Habsburg Spain and the gradual rise in European hegemony

Hegemony

Hegemony is an indirect form of imperial dominance in which the hegemon rules sub-ordinate states by the implied means of power rather than direct military force. In Ancient Greece , hegemony denoted the politico–military dominance of a city-state over other city-states...

of France during the ensuing Grand Siècle.